Back in 2006, two years after his “Real World: Philadelphia” appearance, Brown arrived home in a drugged-out “stupor” to find a letter requesting child support, according to an excerpt published by People. At the time, Brown was “excessively” using both ecstasy and cocaine.

After seeing he owed $230,000 in back child support, Brown thought he was being “Punk’d” by Ashton Kutcher. Upon further reading, he learned the woman seeking support was Stephanie Brooks, who he had not seen since high school.

As he detailed, he and Brooks were close friends in high school. One night the pair had “two and half minutes” of sex. Brooks eventually moved away and the friends lost touch. He didn’t know he fathered a son until 10 years later when that letter arrived.

He soon flew to Houston for a paternity test. But under his sister’s suggestion, he got clean before moving forward. “She said, ‘You have a child who is potentially going to need you; you have to get your s–t together.’ I stayed in her house under her supervision,” Brown wrote.

Brown drove over to Brooks’ house where he met 10-year-old Jason. As he discussed, his dad instincts quickly kicked in.

“There’s something about the first moment of seeing your child,” Brown wrote. “All the pieces of me that I felt were missing got sewn up the minute I saw his face. I looked at his little fourth-grade boy, and I thought, ‘I can do this.’”

Karamo Brown and Ian JordanGetty Images

With custody of Jason, Brown began forging a new life. He moved back to Texas and found a job in social services. “I rearranged my schedule so I could take Jason to school and pick him up,” he wrote. “I met with his teachers. I began volunteering at the school. The phrase ‘helicopter dad’ doesn’t do justice to my behavior.”

Over time, Brown also began taking care of Brooks’ younger son, Christian.